Soup kitchens to defy minister on move out order

Soup kitchens have joined arms in standing up to the order by the Federal Territories minister Tengku Adnan that soup kitchens have to move out of central KL from next week. - AFP pic, July 3, 2014.The operators of soup kitchens in Kuala Lumpur today vowed to continue feeding the homeless despite facing the threat of action by City Hall which is on a drive to present a better image of Malaysia's capital city.

They insisted they ran a clean operation and always cleaned up after their food was distributed to the homeless.

They also hit out at Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, saying his reason for the ban is ridiculous, with one operator reminding the minister its operation was launched by his predecessor Datuk Raja Nong Chik.

Tengku Adnan had today said soup kitchens in the city would be fined if they do not move out of Kuala Lumpur by Monday.

He said this was in line with Putrajaya’s plan to remove the homeless from Kuala Lumpur’s streets and added that NGOs were prohibited from feeding the homeless within a 2km-radius around the city centre’s iconic Lot 10 shopping complex.

Pertiwi Soup Kitchen founder Munirah Abdul Hamid said Tengku Adnan appeared to have misunderstood their work.

She said they had been vocal in pointing out the difference between the homeless and beggars as the latter may be controlled by syndicates.

“Tengku Adnan has confused the two. The ones that we feed are people trying to get by every day.”

Munirah said they had driven the same point to the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim at a recent meeting.

“What is wrong with making life better for the homeless? Isn't it very un-Islamic of him to say such things during the month of Ramadan?” she asked.

Commenting on the irony of the current situation, she added that Pertiwi Soup Kitchen was launched by former Minister of Federal Territories Datuk Raja Nong Chik on March 11, 2010.

“So how can he (Tengku Adnan) suddenly say that feeding the homeless is illegal?”

Nasi Lemak Project volunteer Mastura Mohd Rashid said their organisation will not comply with this ban.

“It’s rather silly of the minister to behave like this. He shouldn’t make a mockery of himself, it’s embarrassing,” said Mastura, adding that as a minister, Tengku Adnan's responsibility is to understand and get closer to the unfortunate and downtrodden.

Speaking of her experience feeding the homeless, Mastura said that sometimes, City Hall officials would chase hem from the distribution area.

"Some officials would advise us against feeding the homeless because they believed it would make the homeless 'lazy', and they claimed that it was also a waste of money.

Nasi Lemak Project comprises students from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) who volunteer in areas around Brickfields, Ampang and Chow Kit on Fridays and Sundays.

A founder member of Need to Feed the Need, Sara Sukor, 33, said that rather than criticise their work, Tengku Adnan should work with them.

She added that not all whom they feed are homeless as most of them work odd jobs, such as in restaurants that pay only RM10 to RM15 a day, for an 18-hour shift.

"This is grossly insufficient for them to survive on, especially when they have children, while some even rent a place for RM25 a day as they can’t afford a house.

“By giving them food, it lessens their burden. We also give milk to children under (the age of)  three.

"Where else can the homeless go for relief," Sara said.

In announcing the ban, Tengku Adnan claimed that soup kitchens were dirty, and also attracted rodents that spread diseases like Leptospirosis.

Tengku Adnan said the homeless could go to temples and mosques outside Kuala Lumpur if they wished to get food, adding that those who donate to beggars in the capital city would also be fined.

To this, Pertiwi’s Munirah said: “We clean up after ourselves as well as other places around the area after each round. In fact, I have also challenged the mayor many times to join me for our food distribution".

Mastura said they were particular about hygiene and cleaned up after distributing food on their rounds.

"We shop for food at around noon and we start cooking at 2pm and finish at about 6pm. We also take the trouble to separate each type of food as some go bad faster than others,” she said, adding that to further maintain the freshness of the food, they also reduce the use of coconut milk.

- TMI